The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday downplayed speculation that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) might soon visit the US and speak at Cornell University.
The rumors originated among political figures and in the media, and are unfounded, the ministry said.
The Presidential Office has a policy to publicly announce the president’s visits to other countries when they are scheduled, it added.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Tsai in 2019 spent a total of four nights in the US — in New York and Denver — on her way to and from visits to Caribbean diplomatic allies St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, and Haiti.
Tsai met with Taiwanese and US business representatives, and attended a banquet with members of the Taiwanese-American community.
At the time, Tsai was treated as a distinguished guest in the US, setting a precedent, the ministry said.
Among the reports foreseeing a visit to the US by Tsai was an article in the Japanese Sankei Shimbun yesterday saying Tsai would travel to the country in August.
Three possibilities are under consideration, according to anonymous government sources cited in the article.
One is that Tsai would speak at an event hosted by her alma mater, Cornell University, in New York State.
This would echo former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) US visit in June 1995, when he spoke at Cornell, where he obtained a doctoral degree in agricultural economics in 1968.
Another plan would have Tsai attend an event at a US think tank, while a third possibility would have Tsai stop in the US on her way to or from the inauguration of the Paraguayan president in August, the report said.
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